Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Porsche Left a Note for Acura in the 911 GT3 Used as Benchmark for the NSX

-A note to any automakers benchmarking cars built by Porsche: They’ll find you, and they’ll probably leave you goofy messages hidden somewhere in the car. That’s what happened when the 911 GT3 Acura was using to help develop the NSX’s steering went back to the dealer for a recall service.
-Per common practice, when Acura bought a 911 GT3 for its test fleet, it did so anonymously, but Porsche saw who it belonged to when the service center accessed the car’s data, according to Automotive News. It was at this point that Porsche decided to have a little bit of fun with its counterparts at Acura.

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“Good luck Honda from Porsche. See you on the other side,” read a note left under the 911 GT3’s engine cover, according to the NSX’s dynamics project leader Nick Robinson. The NSX team also benchmarked a McLaren 12C, and although McLaren never figured out that Acura owned the particular car, the dealer in charge of servicing raised an eyebrow. “[The McLaren dealer] wanted to know ‘Where did you go 205 mph? What track?’,” said Robinson. In an automotive environment sorely lacking in friendly rivalries of late, this is the sort of story we love.